Judge denies release of Ohio woman in Amish case

Woman serving time for beard- and hair-cutting attacks

Published: September 4, 2014 3:00 PM

CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a bid for release by a woman serving two years in connection with beard- and hair-cutting attacks targeting Amish.
U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster in Cleveland says the request by Linda Schrock is premature.

Her attorney last week said she should be released after a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel overturned hate-crime convictions of 16 men and women. They were convicted after five attacks in 2011 that were in apparent retaliation against Amish who defied or denounced the authoritarian style of Sam Mullet Sr. He led the Bergholz community in eastern Ohio.

But Polster said this week that federal prosecutors could still appeal that ruling. They also say her conspiracy conviction remains intact.